Students need maximum flexibility for assessments from home

A solution that works for some might not work for others. Each student’s circumstances must be considered, argues Simon Hunt

Published on
March 27, 2020
Last updated
March 27, 2020
Simon Hunt
Stressed student
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Reader's comments (5)

#1 Submitted by davep@... on March 27, 2020 - 8:35am
Yes, indeed. Are HEIs fully cognisant of the different home environments of their undergraduates? Class remains a considerable issue here compounded by the current pandemic.
#2 Submitted by chris3.... on March 27, 2020 - 3:46pm
Universities can make their alternative online exams flexible yet maintain academic standards that will help students in the long run by sensible strategy, innovation, and thinking things all the way through. It's all about being able to adapt to the situation by having the right people in the right spaces with the right skills. It just depends which university you're at really.
#3 Submitted by Simon Hunt 1 on March 30, 2020 - 2:22pm
Hi Chris - I've no doubt universities can make changes to their assessment methods. My point is that, with tens of thousands dying and a great many more in hospital - including students and their families - no adaptation to assessment method will be able to overcome this.
#4 Submitted by m.... on March 28, 2020 - 2:10pm
Again, a good carp without any suggestions for how things might be done, in this student's eyes, more 'fairly', All have had access to tuition: lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, throughout the year. Libraries may be physically shut now, but reading around the subject is something that should have been done all year round and most have access to e-books (and e-book publishers are relaxing their restrictions due to the coronavirus scare so that students can read them more easily). 'Takeaway' examinations where students have a limited period of time to write responses to questions have the advantage of being, by default, open book. Students who rely on a good memory to get grades may be a bit disadvantaged, yes, but those who understand the subject matter and know how to make use of it will still get the chance to shine. At this level, feats of memory shouldn't be important anyway. I run the final year project for Computer Science students at my university. Instead of demonstrating their work face-to-face with their assessors, they will have to present via videoconference. As our distance learners follow a different schedule, they have been presenting this week: and they have done brilliantly. They were allowed to choose the conferencing software - we had a mix of MS Teams, Zoom, and Skype (other systems are available!) presentations with few technical difficulties. Lessons learned will be applied to the full-time students later on, they present their work at the beginning of May - chiefly, to allow extra time to sort out technical hitches, and perhaps to record presentations either in advance or as they are made 'live'. I am pleasantly surprised how well it worked, and acknowledge the hard work of both students and assessors that made it all happen.
#5 Submitted by Simon Hunt 1 on March 30, 2020 - 2:32pm
Thanks very much for your comments - I thought I might respond to some of them: -"a good carp without any suggestions for how things might be done, in this student's eyes, more 'fairly'" My article discusses several alternatives to the standard assessment methods. My point is precisely that none on its own will be fair for all students in this crisis - the only fair option is to offer a choice from several options. -"Libraries may be physically shut now, but reading around the subject is something that should have been done all year round" - it almost sounds as if you're saying students should have anticipated a global pandemic and should have studied in advance accordingly. Many students - including myself - were planning to use their last 3 months to study and no doubt our grades will be affected if we can't study for a full 3 months before and during our exams. -"most have access to e-books" - the majority of the books on my course are not available as e-books - they only have print editions. -"Students who rely on a good memory to get grades may be a bit disadvantaged" - I would have thought students with the best memories would be the most advantaged, as they will remember their courses. Those with short memories now have the biggest challenge as they have limited access to study materials. -"Those who understand the subject matter and know how to make use of it will still get the chance to shine." - your argument presupposes that students will be fit and healthy in the run up to their exams. But in this pandemic, there are tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands hospitalised, including many students and their immediate family members. To plan assessments on the assumption that students are fit and healthy in the midst of a global pandemic seems at best naive, at worst negligent.

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